becoming {h.s} | {b2}

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

— CHAPTER THIRTEEN —

june, year one.

"I'm back, baby!" Harry cheers, walking through the door to the apartment that I share with Will. As could have been expected, Kiera kicked him out. After the proposal, she officially moved in with him, fully. I thought it would sting a lot more than it did. Early on in their relationship, I hated thinking about Kiera in my house. After the proposal, I seemed to reach a sense of peace with the information. The second I gave Harry the house, I renounced my claim on it. Kiera moving in is the next natural step of their relationship; like how I moved in with Will when we got married. These kinds of things only make sense.

Tomorrow is the USMLE Step 3 exam, and she absolutely refused to have Harry in the house. She refused to have any potential distraction on her last night and Harry didn't fight her on the matter. He came to me, then. As always, I told him to practice the open door policy with our apartment. What's mine is his, and what's his is mine. Neither Will nor I minded him spending the next two nights in the guest bedroom. Since my birthday dinner, I think it has become increasingly obvious to Will that I've been craving some time with my best friend. Time is the first thing to go in a busy lifestyle. Eagerly, Will welcomed Harry into our home. Sometimes, I think that I don't deserve him. I know that he is too good for me. He does everything for me, and sometimes I question whether I do enough in return.

"Come on in," I call from the kitchen where I sit on the counter, cross-legged dipping into a bowl of cookie dough that Will had been making for me. I asked for cookies, but before he was able to put them in the oven, I changed my mind and confiscated the bowl to indulge in the raw ingredients myself. For as long as I can remember, I've had something of a soft spot for cookies. I've never been able to say no to a cookie of any kind, though chocolate chip has always been my favorite. For the occasion of something of a slumber party with my best friend, Will made the cookies that I was obviously craving. Unfortunately, he started too early and I doubt whether or not there will even be anything left for Harry by the time he makes it over to the kitchen area.

Following my birthday, I'd gone through with getting the key made for Harry. Will agreed that he didn't mind Harry having a key. Though his schedule is tame right now, there are times that he will be gone for a weekends or two. He thought he would feel a lot more comfortable knowing that Harry would be able to come and check on me in the event that I do feel insecure—should ever something happen.

"Where are you?"

"The kitchen," I call back as he trudges into the apartment. I can hear him shuffling around by the front door as he begins to shed his layers. There'd been a big rainstorm today, prompting him to wear a few more layers than he alternatively would at the end of June.

Once situated, Harry enters the room. He comes into the kitchen and looks at me as I sit on the countertop with the bowl in my lap. "Where's Will?" He asks as he comes closer, stopping to grab a spoon from the drawer where we keep all our silverware. What's mine is his and what's his is mine. Sharing everything is almost natural between the two of us; ingrained. With the spoon in his hand, he joins me on the countertop and dips into the bowl as well to takes a bite of the sweet treat.

"Shower, I think," I answer, taking another bite myself. "Did you eat?"

"Mhm," he answers, digging the spoon in once more. My eyes scan over to the blaring red clock displayed on the microwave. Sun has set outside and it's closing in on eight in the evening. Harry had come here from work after dropping Kiera back off at home. "Grabbed something quick before Kiera kicked me out," he adds humorously.

"Is she ready?"

"Think so," he admits, dropping his spoon in the bowl signaling he is done. There's only a little bit of the dough left, and I take the initiative to finish it myself. "She's getting a bit nervous, but I think that's just the jitters of it all. We were like that, too."